2014 Businesses closing stores or shutting down in Iowa

[Angie]

Okoboji Grill is closed:
http://amestrib.com/news/okoboji-grill-closes-ames-location

Also heard that Pizza Hut on South Duff is closed.

Wow, that's unexpected on Okoboji.

I saw the Pizza Hut listed on one of the local realtor sites recently. I don't know if it's to sell the franchise or the building.

 

[dtISU]

And all this time I thought Boone was BFE.

Not quite, but you can see it from here.

 

[ribsnwhiskey]

Wow, that's unexpected on Okoboji.

I saw the Pizza Hut listed on one of the local realtor sites recently. I don't know if it's to sell the franchise or the building.

I'm sure Pizza Hut will relocate. No idea about Okoboji but their sign did say the lease was up so maybe they'll be opening somewhere else too. At least traffic on S. Duff will decrease a little.

 

[3TrueFans]

Is there much need for Pizza Huts with sit down restaurants anymore? Do they even build those anymore?

 

[Angie]

I'm sure Pizza Hut will relocate. No idea about Okoboji but their sign did say the lease was up so maybe they'll be opening somewhere else too. At least traffic on S. Duff will decrease a little.

That building has been a revolving door since Cafe Northwest moved. There was... Indigo Joes? (We called it Indigo Blows, so I'm not sure what the real name was) right after, then Okoboji, and that's all been in the past ten years or so. Even though their new menu was just terrible, I figured Okoboji would be there for forever.

 

[dtISU]

Nope, my guess is the land is cheaper than in Ames (and they can get a larger area of land) and they figure they can keep their Boone customers while getting a little closer to Ames (I see their trucks driving around town all the time so I'm guessing they do a good amount of business here). Plus while not great the visibility it is better than they currently have.

AND...they get a ton of business from Des Moines

AND...they're tired of paying exhorbitant real estate taxes for their location in Boone.

 

[StClone]

I wish Ames K-Mart would close so they could put the Menards there instead of trying to put it in a flood plain with Dinosaurs...

Why would you want a Menards? The owners hate their clientele and and if not for money would wish you would rather not exist.

 

[cycloner29]

Valentino's in Ames is shutting it's doors today. Funny thing is Ty Stewart took over this a couple of years ago. Wonder what happened?

 

[3TrueFans]

Valentino's in Ames is shutting it's doors today. Funny thing is Ty Stewart took over this a couple of years ago. Wonder what happened?

He made it bad. Seriously, we used to go to Valentino's all the time back to when it was over by the mall now we maybe go there twice a year. One thing I do know for sure is the staff got much worse, when Purcell's owned it one of them was there basically every time I went in and it showed because the staff was usually on point.

I think the food has gone way downhill too, I don't know if they changed something or what but the pizza is not as good as it once was.

 

[ISU42]

He made it bad. Seriously, we used to go to Valentino's all the time back to when it was over by the mall now we maybe go there twice a year. One thing I do know for sure is the staff got much worse, when Purcell's owned it one of them was there basically every time I went in and it showed because the staff was usually on point.

I think the food has gone way downhill too, I don't know if they changed something or what but the pizza is not as good as it once was.

The Purcell family was great. I had the pizza a couple years ago and thought it didn't taste as good. Just chalked it up to me losing my mind since I hadn't had it for about five years.